Dream Street. Pittsburgh, 1955. W. Eugene Smith

Description

This is the most serene image that emerged from W. Eugene Smith’s exhaustive photo essay of “Pittsburgh,” undertaken for Magnum from 1955-1957 shortly after he left LIFE magazine following a dispute with editors. Capturing more than 11,000 photographs, Smith documented a vibrant industrial metropolis, its steel mills, its people, its scenery — the most comprehensive visual chronicle ever made of an American city in motion. “Dream Street” stands in stark contrast to other iconic images in the series, a “hidden” oasis providing a respite from urban life in the 1950s. Like many other symbols of a bygone era, the actual Dream Street has vanished over time and is no longer recognizable. Yet the image remains more relevant than ever. As Smith wrote: “The one full freedom is man’s right to dream. No government of whatever nature, no tyranny, no circumstance can remove possession of this right.”